about the little things in life

Category Archives: New Zealand

In my mind’s eye the colour of spring is tender: pink and white and violet, and dimpled daffodil yellow; diaphanous blue; soft, lush green; all steeped in warm, lemon honey sunshine. But that is not often the reality of spring, particularly in Christchurch where, in September, the average sunshine hours per day number 5.5.

No, the colour of spring is more nuanced than my mind’s eye would have it. It is frequently overcast with grey,

Spring Grey

and dim drizzle, (skip to the end of the video if you are interested in the cherry blossom)

and shaded skies.

Spring under shaded sky

But for all that my spring is not mental picture-perfect, I still love it. And I will take it any way it comes.

I love spring however it is served; but I don’t eat daffodils ~ they’re poisonous ~ just saying ;).

Most of my readers will know about the earthquakes we experienced in Christchurch in 2010 and 2011 as well as the continuing aftershocks. The aftershocks are now minor and infrequent, yet the enormous impact of the initial earthquakes lives with us still. It is inescapable. It is omnipresent. The mark of the earthquakes is as good as branded upon us, seared into our being and into our land; indelible, ingrained, forever.

Yet our branding mark is no longer as raw and painful as it once was. There is healing. Healing which comes through significant milestones, like the recent opening of Helmores Lane Bridge; the only surviving 19th century timber bridge in Christchurch.

I didn’t attend the official opening, but the following day I visited the bridge for the simple pleasure of crossing it, and then standing midway to take in one of my favourite views in Christchurch.

This is what I saw. It was not what I heard.

I added a soundtrack to the video to drown out the earthquake reconstruction din which permeates the air almost everywhere in Christchurch.

The true soundtrack of our lives is an impromptu, improvised, unfinished symphony which I call “Earthquaked.” You can hear a bit of it in this next video ( and, happily, some birdsong, too.)

Unfortunately in my attempt to keep my video as short as possible, I edited out most of the noisiest noise. Hopefully, there’s enough left to give you an idea of “Earthquaked”, within the first 48 seconds; which is the average viewing time on my You Tube channel. 😉

p.s. Readers who are sharp-eyed grammarians will notice I have not placed an apostrophe in Helmores Lane. It is my natural inclination to do so, and the media articles, including one by the City Council, on the opening of the bridge certainly use an apostrophe. BUT it is my understanding that city councils in New Zealand do not usually use the apostrophe in street signage, and the New Zealand Geographic Board does not usually do so in place names. There are exceptions, of course. As far as I know Helmores Lane is not one of them. I am happy to be corrected on this apostrophe.